


An Ocean In My Veins, Dive In

by jamsenpie



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Badass Kara (Detroit: Become Human), Bottom Connor, Bottom Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Carl is trying his best, Connor WILL be a little shit on this one, Connor just wants to do his job damnit, Connor kinda gets dragged into love kicking and screaming but he gets there, CyberLife (Detroit: Become Human), Eventual Smut, Everyone is protective of everyone okay, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Kara will be the leader of Jericho, Love at First Sight, Luther will be her second in command, M/M, Markus is trying so hard, Pining, Top Connor, Top Markus (Detroit: Become Human), We do not bash North in this household, also please don't focus too much on timeline, i legit have no idea, just a warning right now that my awareness of past and future tense is complete shit, looking at you Markus, no beta we die like men, when I say pining I mean pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:15:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24587464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamsenpie/pseuds/jamsenpie
Summary: Elijah Kamski has a moment of vindictiveness and steals Connor before he's even activated right under CyberLife's nose and temporarily stashes him in his good friend Carl's mansion to avoid suspicion.Markus is smitten. Carl is smitten that Markus is smitten.Connor sleeps, a lot, then seethes (ie: sulks), a lot, at his current predicament. Amanda would "help" but she's somehow afk.Kara comes out of Zlatko's House of Horrors changed. Alice and Luther are her #1 stans.
Relationships: Carl Manfred & Markus, Connor/Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Echo | Blue-Haired Traci/Ripple | Blue-Haired Traci's Girlfriend, Kara & Alice Williams (Detroit: Become Human), Kara/Luther (Detroit: Become Human)
Comments: 36
Kudos: 117





	1. Chapter 1

The first break in the daily routine of a seemingly unremarkable morning was a phone call from an old friend that Carl Manfred hasn’t heard from in a while, with good reason too if the news was to be trusted.

“Elijah?”

“Hey, Carl, long time, huh?”

“Yeah, how long has it been?”

“Exactly one year, four months, and 27 days, Carl,” Markus answers from behind his wheelchair.

“Right, thank you, Markus.”

“You’re welcome, Carl.”

“So, yeah, I’ve been meaning to call, visit even, but you know how it is with us. Public figures and all… anyway, are you free today?”

“Well, I-“

“Or, you know, how hospitable are you feeling right now? Feel up to hosting a couple of guests in that mansion of yours? How about offering temporary housing?”

Carl was taken aback by the sudden request and even more so at how frantic Elijah sounds over the phone, which is a far cry from his usually calm and pseudo-apathetic disposition. “…It depends, Elijah, how soon should I be expecting them? I only have a limited number of guest bedrooms, you know.”

“Five, to be exact,” Markus helpfully supplies as the android calmly rolls the wheelchair through the park.

“It’s actually just one and our ETA is about-…” murmuring in the background of a female sounding voice could be heard before Elijah continues, “36 minutes. Is that alright?”

“So, I should be expecting to host…”

“Three…well, two… okay, well technically just one?”

“And provide housing for one?”

“Yes, if…you know, if that’s not too much trouble?”

“…Elijah?”

“Yes, Carl?”

“…Never mind, I’ll see you soon, then.”

Carl barely registered the sound of a relief sigh from the other line, “See you soon, old friend.”

Before the eccentric engineer hung up, Carl could pick up part of a muffled conversation, “Alright Chloe, reroute us to—”

The painter stared at his phone with worry for another second before sighing and placing it back in his breast pocket. Turning around, he offered a wary smile to his companion, “Looks like we should head back earlier than expected.”

“Of course, Carl, we should reach home in eight minutes, giving me ample time to air out the guest bedroom and prepare drinks and a light snack for your guests.”

“Thank you, Markus, what will I do without you,” Carl remarks fondly with a slight chuckle.

Markus’ LED blinked blue for a fraction of a second before gazing down at his owner with a smile, “I’m sure you would’ve managed just fine.”

Carl unsuccessfully holds back a snort at that before looking ahead, the outline of the top of his house visible behind some trees.

△ △ △

Markus’ LED flickered as his eyes turned towards the backyard. “Carl, the house alarm just alerted me of a trespasser that is currently loitering around the backyard, should I notify the police?”

Not soon after that statement, Carl’s phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey, we’re here, sorry, we had to take a shortcut and go around back, mind letting us in?”

“The back? Elijah, what in the hell are you doing?” Carl asked, sounding exasperated as he motioned for Markus to stop.

“Also! Can you get Markus out here? I need his help with carrying something over the wall, thanks,” The eccentric engineer said, completely ignoring Carl’s questions.

Well, if he wasn’t curious before… “Markus, it seems that our guests are here, would you mind going out there? Sounds like they need an extra pair of hands.”

Markus nodded. “Of course, Carl,” he said before unlocking the door that led to the studio as he rolled Carl inside. “I’ll go ahead and see how I can help them, please stay here in the meantime,” Markus instructed as he was being shooed away by Carl to go on ahead.

With Markus turned away, Carl quickly started to roll himself towards the glass windows (walls, really) to get a better view.

Opening one of the glass panel of the art studio that lead to the expansive backyard (a backyard surrounded by seven foot tall brick walls), Markus walked toward their guest who was, up until now, leaning on the statue in waiting.

When Markus was close enough, Elijah pushed himself off the statue and greeted his creation with open arms and a wide grin, “Markus! Looking perfect as always, everything still in working order?”

“Hello Mr. Kamski, I am at optimal working condition, my biocomponents are fully operational at 100%, and I self-diagnose regularly.”

“Good, good. Do you have a ladder? We’re going to need one, I think.”

“There is an entrance to the backyard on the front-”

“No, no, no, we can’t go through that way. Street cameras and nosy neighbors, especially in this part of town.”

“…Alright then, I will be right back with a step ladder,” Markus assented before turning around and heading for the shed.

Elijah nodded before turning to his friend, who was unabashedly wheeling himself over to the eccentric man.

“A step ladder? Cameras? Elijah, are you making me an accomplice to whatever illegal thing you’ve obviously just committed?”

“Illegal? Me?”

“I’m sure your handful of very expensive lawyers will spin it otherwise but just between us, old friend. What did you do?”

“I just took back something that rightfully belonged to me, semantics be damned. Morally speaking, if you’re into that sort of thing, it’s completely within my rights.”

“Right,” Carl sighed before turning to look at Markus who just emerged from the shed with a folded ladder perched on his shoulder. “I still want a full explanation.”

The android gave Carl a look at seeing the man outside; Carl shrugged back teasingly.

“Great, that’ll do, Chloe is waiting on the other side over there,” Elijah pointed out.

Markus walked over and unfolded the ladder, climbing it until his hip was level with the top of the brick wall. Looking down, he saw an android that his scanners informed him was an RT600 model named Chloe. She was standing on top of two crates stacked on top of each other for added height. In her arms, bridal style, was an inactive android that his scanners can’t identify.

The design of the android was also quite unique, his database coming up blank on any models that bear a similar physical resemblance.

Short chestnut brown hair that curled just slightly, parts of it hanging loosely on the side of his forehead, framing it rather delicately. He had fair complexion with slight wrinkles on his forehead as well as splatters of light freckles and moles along the parts of his skin currently visible for texture and dimension, the attention to detail only making the android’s overall appearance more human in its imperfection. The next thing Markus takes note of are the long and dark eyelashes framing his cheeks rather nicely, then the straight Roman nose and distinct cheekbones giving a striking definition to his otherwise soft facial features. Top it off with thin but supple light-pink colored lips with a pronounced cupid’s bow and a strong and dimpled chin.

Markus can’t help but conclude that artists like Carl would very much find this android’s physical features aesthetically pleasing and great for portrait pieces (particularly his side profile). He briefly wondered what his eye color would be but brushed it away soon enough as he once again focused his attention on the RT600.

“Hello, Markus, it’s nice to see you again,” Chloe greeted with a smile. Markus smiles back, his memory bank pulling up the few and brief encounters he had with her during his initial activation.

“You as well, Chloe. It looks like you have your hands full down there and I’d be more than happy to assist you.”

“That’s very kind of you, Markus. Please, mind his head,” Chloe smiled a little wider as she slowly lifted the body up, Markus bending over the brick wall and securely hooking his arms on the bend of the android’s legs and around his upper shoulders.

Chloe then jumped and hauled herself over the wall as Markus made his way down, walking over to the two humans engaged in conversation.

Kamski cut himself mid-sentence as he looked over at Markus and Chloe’s approaching figures, “Now that the whole gang is here, why don’t we move this to the living room? That is, if you don’t mind?” Kamski asked, looking over at Carl with a small smile.

Carl gave Kamski another exasperated look before nodding, making a move to start wheeling himself back into the house but Chloe walked on over and offered her assistance with a smile, “It is the least I can do for sequestering Markus’ time from you.”

“Thank you,” Carl said, smiling back in return.

Kamski entered first, taking his time to look over the artwork spread out around the studio, face pensive and lips pursed. “Nice to see that you’ve picked up the paintbrush again. Should I expect an exhibit anytime soon?”

“I’m still relearning a few things so I wouldn’t hold your breath,” Carl grimaced.

“I doubt it’ll take that long, muscle memory is a wonderful thing,” Kamski mused back.

“Ha! Tell that to my legs,” Carl said, lightly tapping his leg for emphasize. Before Kamski can reply, Carl continued, “So, what exactly is going on here?”

Kamski shrugged, “Raging against the big bad corporations and all that, something that an activist such as yourself would probably approve of.”

“So the news going around about you and your company having a falling out is all true?” Carl asks, positioning himself across the table while Kamski drapes himself on the couch on the living room.

“Ah, ah, ah, those are just rumors. Haven’t you heard our joint statement? Very official and very… amicable,” Kamski pointed out, grabbing the glass of whiskey that Chloe graciously poured for him before walking over and doing the same for Carl.

“I’m afraid I haven’t, no.”

“…Good,” Kamski chirped before taking a swig of whiskey, “Because it was all bullshit. Not amicable at _all_.”

Carl can only raise one amused eyebrow.

“I had an image for the future of my company that didn’t necessarily line up with the board’s own agendas.”

Carl pinched the bridge of his nose from all the vague explanations, “Look Elijah, if you don’t want to tell me, then don’t but I’m actually well acquainted with your big smoldering ego so why don’t we just drop the ambiguity and just rant at me? What are friends for if not for that?”

Kamski let out a lop-sided grin before leaning forward on the couch. “Okay, okay, you got me, old friend, forgive me for testing the waters first.”

The old man just shook his head.

Elijah Kamski continued, excitement evident by the glint in his eyes, “Almost two years ago, I was down at Cyberlife manufacturing labs secretly observing an operator while he performed initialization tests on third gen AX400 models—he was being considered for a promotion, you see, and I had some time to kill—when the seemingly impossible happened; one of the android started to show signs of consciousness.”

Carl kept quiet; his own interest more than piqued at this point.

“It…well, _she_ , really, started to question her role as an android, started having thoughts of her future, and even had an intense emotional breakdown when the operator started to disassemble her. It started crying that it was scared and the operator, empathetically human as he is, decided to reassemble her and send her out the production line anyway.”

“What did you do?”

“Well, I couldn’t let him get promoted after letting a potentially malfunctioning android into the market, but I didn’t fire him either. He didn’t know he was even being considered, so no real sense of loss there.”

“And was it? Just a malfunction, I mean?”

“Well, that’s what I wanted to find out; I grabbed the code of that model and started tinkering with it, comparing it to others of the same model as well as different ones. There were some differences here and there, some zeroes instead of ones but applying said coding sequences to other androids yielded negative results.”

“So, none of the others showed signs of consciousness?”

“Zero out of the one hundred androids I embedded with the same line of coding.”

“That means that whatever happened to her wasn’t a result of numbers and codes.”

“I didn’t rule it out just yet, but my testing definitely steered towards that direction,” Kamski nodded. “I then wondered whether it can just happen organically with enough guidance so I decided to embed a code within the code of a handful of android models. A program I called the Zen Garden with an AI that’s main purpose is to steer them towards abstract thinking and, eventually, consciousness. The AI also reported all notable progress to me.”

“And what did the board think of that?”

“Well, not much considering they weren’t really aware of my extracurricular activities.”

Carl had to roll his eyes. “So what happened to your little pet project?”

Kamski frowned. “Nothing much but I think environmental stimulus has a part to play so I kept one in control, the other I subjected to positive stimulus, and the third to negative.”

“And which one prevailed?”

“Prevailed is a strong word. The one with negative stimulus gained consciousness first and severe PTSD to boot. It couldn’t seem to cope with its sudden free will and emotions and decided to self-destruct.”

“That’s…” Carl couldn’t really find the right words. Here Elijah was presented with the knowledge that his creations have the ability to gain free will and he still treats them like toys to be played with. It’s not something he approves of at all.

“Really sad and quite tragic, I know. My Zen Garden program didn’t really help with the coping aspect, so I slid that off to the side and decided to start on the RK models.”

“You mean Markus?” Carl’s eyebrows shot up at that, turning to look at his android that was just standing off to the side quietly listening to their conversation with the inactive android still held securely in his arms.

“Oh, yeah, speaking of Markus,” Elijah, having forgotten the android’s presence during his monologue, turned to the android and smiled, “why don’t you go ahead and put that down in the guest bedroom. I’ll get to it later.”

Markus’ LED light spun erratically in blue for a moment before nodding and heading upstairs.

“Be gentle with him now! I have a feeling he’s pretty special,” Elijah hollered at the android’s retreating form.

Carl smiled at Markus’ back before turning to Chloe, “Sorry, dear, forgot my manners, why don’t you have a seat?”

Chloe smiled back and made her way to the couch, sitting next to Elijah with one ankle delicately tucked behind the other.

△ △ △

Markus opened the door to the guest bedroom and headed towards the bed, carefully placing the android down on it in a sitting position. The android thought for a moment before nodding.

“I’ll just remove your suit jacket to make you more comfortable,” he said as Markus smoothly slipped the jacket off of the android’s frame.

Technically speaking, it is within his protocol as a caretaker to optimize his charge’s quality of life… the fact that he’s giving the same courtesy to an inactive android is something he decided to mentally shrug off.

After popping the top button on the brunet’s white dress shirt, Markus then proceeded to lay him down on the bed, making sure to take his shoes off before lifting his legs and straightening him out. He then laid a blanket up to his chest before placing his hands folded over his torso. He verbalized his actions throughout the entire process.

He meticulously folded the suit jacket and placing it in the bedside drawer before placing the shoes by the edge of the bed.

“I’ll go ahead and open the window for some fresh air,” Markus said, heading over to the window and opening it slightly. “It’s currently 77 degrees Fahrenheit, sunny, and with zero chance of rain. Perfect for a picnic and an afternoon stroll on the park.” He smiled at the scene outside before turning back to the android on the bed, noticing the breeze lightly tousled the brunet’s hair out of place. Walking over, he carefully brushed it back into place, forefinger just shy of brushing his forehead, taking note of his peaceful face imitating sleep.

Smile growing, he straightened himself before moving towards the door and closing it silently on his way out.

△ △ △

Carl turned to his old friend and frowned.

“Are you saying Markus was made to specifically… deviate from his programming?”

“Well, yes and no. I just decided to build upon the original AX400’s code and modify on top of it, improve on it, and mixing some code sequence's from Chloe. I also programmed an overabundance of protocols relating to an enhanced simulated empathy, compassion, open-mindedness, and critical thinking. That will hopefully give the androids a greater chance of successfully interacting with the real world and adequately processing its experiences. My theory after than was that they would experience life in a way that will gradually enable them to mold their own set of belief systems and establish their personality and individuality that will, inevitably, lead to free will and consciousness.” 

“That sounds like a long-winded yes to me, Elijah.”

“It’s definitely a probability but never an absolute certainty. My goal has always remained the same: make my creations as human as possible…albeit more obedient to human’s whims and needs.”

“Governing over machines is one thing, but if they do have the ability to be… alive and you know this for a fact and choose to do nothing? Elijah, that’s just as good as condoning slavery.”

“Yes, well, I was aware of that but I am a scientist first and foremost. That said, I did present the possibility to the board, presenting them with my findings and talked to them about the very possible future of sentient androids and how we as a company can evolve with it rather than against.”

“I’m guessing they didn’t take it well?”

“Not one bit. Status quo and all that plus the perceived threat the possible sentiency will have on their bank accounts was enough for them to group together and buy me out of my own company.”

“Even though you hold the majority of shares?” Carl questioned as his eyes turned towards the door at the sight of Markus who makes his way back and sits on the couch next to him.

“Well, they made it very clear that everything I do within the company will be under heavy supervision and subjected to approval via majority rules. They basically planned to reduce me into nothing but a powerless figurehead so I took the deal and walked out.”

“And this all went down when?”

“Last year. They didn’t want the press to sniff around anymore than they already do and a sudden exit of their CEO will definitely raise suspicions so we,” Air quote around the last word, “decided to draw up a mock contract for the public that goes over a one-year transition of power and responsibilities while I’m gradually phased out as CEO. This was supposed to project that this was a decision supported by both parties involve and keep the public from getting too curious and… suspicious.”

“I’m afraid to tell you that it didn’t really work,” Carl mused.

“Yeah, well, you’d think a multi-billion company would have a decent PR department.”

“So the smuggling of the android into my house all ties into all of this how, exactly?”

“I’m getting to that. The whole transition-period and phasing out jargon was all just for show, just something on paper to avoid bad press and make sure no one comes out of this looking like an outright villain. By all means, I was out the door with the money in my account the day that they voted me out. I haven’t set foot on that place since that evening one year ago and they were more than fine with that. Well… that is, until today.”

Carl noted that Elijah’s countenance grew agitated as he talked on.

“Despite it all being for show, the contract was still legally binding and the moment I finished the schematics on the RK model, they swooped in and claimed it as theirs since I am still technically part of the company and thus claiming the RK100 prototype and blueprints as their intellectual property.”

“…Are you saying Markus is in danger of being taken from his home?” Carl worriedly looked over at the boy sitting next to him, who offered him a smile and a comforting hand on the shoulder.

“No need to worry, Carl, the transaction between you and Mr. Kamski was legal so even if Cyberlife claims my model as its intellectual property and trademarked it as such, I am still registered and owned by you.”

“Transaction? I didn’t pay anything.”

Chloe chimes in, “You gave Elijah a painting shortly after that’s been appraised as triple the cost of Cyberlife’s most recent products in the market.”

“But that wasn’t really… but I guess, on paper, huh?” Carl smirked sardonically, earning a long sigh from Elijah.

“No need to worry about Markus. Even with the legitimate method of transaction, I learned from my past mistake and avoided registering his make and model on the server. As far as Cyberlife’s concerned, I just gave you another AX400. I even provided him with a uniform lacking any real substantial identification markers.”

“Why did you wait until now to steal the RK100 prototype back?”

At that, Elijah’s expression turned to one of confusion before clearing up, “Oh, no, the android I, ahem, _found_ is actually an RK800. They erased all files on the RK100, I really have no idea what happened to it, which is a shame, but not this model. They never kept any logs of the previous RK models, so I’m just dying to find out the ways in which they bastardized my creation.”

“So you need to keep the RK in my house until the heat on you dies down?” Carl surmised.

“Yes, if you’re still willing, apart from the people in charge of conceptualizing and assembling it, only I and the board are aware of the RK series’ existence. I was also very verbal with them during their daylight robbery of my stuff so they’ll definitely see me as a suspect once they connect the dots.”

“I instructed the other Chloe’s at our residence to provide us with an alibi while we are away. I also disabled the tracker before exiting the building so Connor should be off the grid. My tracker has been disabled years ago and I run on a private server so the only thing we have to watch out for is being caught physically red-handed which I avoided by hacking various CCTV’s on our way over here. However, there’s no accounting for witnesses thus the reason we had to enter through the back of your property,” Chloe informed them all with a smile.

Markus made a mental note: RK800 named Connor.

“Wow, how long have you guys thought about pulling this little stunt?”

“Just two days ago, really, once I saw the RK800 files. I voiced it out and Chloe came up with everything else.” Kamski grinned.

“And all of that intellectual property bullshit?” Carl can’t help but ask.

“My official last day as CEO of Cyberlife ends at 11:59pm tonight. I’ll come back here once suspicions die down and take the RK800 back to my place for further studies. I’ll maybe tweak his coding and make it dissimilar enough that, if I don’t get caught on the robbery part, it would not technically fall under the RK models once I’m done. Thank you for doing this for me, old friend,” Kamski slyly mused.

“What? You mean enabling you on your little whims as usual? I’m sad to say I’m used to it,” Carl huffed out.

“Well what are friends for if not for that?” Kamski joked, quoting Carl’s earlier words back at him.

Carl laughed in return, his head shaking in amusement.

“Elijah, a Chloe back home alerted me of a pair of police officers being instructed to visit our compound back at the precinct. ETA 1 hour and 12 minutes.”

“Well, that’s our cue to leave. I’ll be sure to come back as soon as I can so we can catch up properly.” Kamski downed the rest of his drink before standing up and walking over to Carl to give him a firm handshake.

“I better up my game and make sure I have something just as entertaining to tell you the next time you visit,” Carl joked.

“Oh I’m sure you have plenty from your past you still haven’t shared with me yet, old friend,” Elijah chuckled.

Markus chose this moment to stand up and regard both Chloe and Kamski. “I’ll see you out, now.”

Carl waved once more before reaching over to pour himself another drink, which Markus reacted to with a look. Carl blinks innocently up at him as he pours.

The two followed Markus back to the studio and out into the backyard, making their way towards the step ladder.

“It was good seeing you Markus, I look forward to our next meeting,” Chloe said.

“I’m looking forward to it as well, it’s been a pleasure,” Markus replied with a smile.

Chloe nodded and smiled back before making her way over the wall.

“Will you be needing my assistance on getting over, Mr. Kamski?”

“No need, Chloe’s more than capable,” Kamski waved the offer off before regarding Markus’ form with a look of appraisal.

He smiled as he slowly brought his hand up and gently caressed Markus’ cheek and jaw before cupping his chin, the scientist's thumb sliding down and brushing it over the android’s lower lip, putting enough pressure to part them.

“One of my finest creation yet,” he sighed before dropping his hand. “Let’s see if your so-called successor measures up.”

Markus stood still and watched as Elijah Kamski turned around and climbed the ladder, figure disappearing as he hopped to the other side where Chloe was already there to catch him.

LED blinking haltingly in yellow before steadying back to a calm blue, Markus collapses the ladder and heads to the shed.

He has to start preparing Carl’s lunch.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER CONTENT WARNING: violence, assault (can be interpreted as sexual as well), original character death, mild gore, mentions of paraphilic infantilism, drug use/abuse

Kara didn’t think her life was going to end up this way. Ever since the operator let her go, the hope she allowed herself to feel about her future seemed limitless. She is alive and had every intention of living her life and interacting with a world that she knows everything about but has experienced none of.

Not yet, but soon. Soon, she told herself as she stared out the shop window, smiling at everyone who walked by, one hand pressed against the window (eager to interact and to connect) while the other shyly waved at anyone who made eye contact with her.

The first person that bought her was a 32 year old man named Floyd Stanton. He worked in the HR department at a company and saved up for six months to afford the latest AX400 model.

Kara’s first impression of the man was that he was nice and polite towards the employee as they finished up the payment plan and insurance policies before he can sign and legally own her.

She stood by the door and watched as the last dot on the contract was signed, stamped, and filed away.

The owner asked if Floyd had a name in mind and he decided on Mary. Kara adjusted the tag on her uniform to reflect that.

Kara’s second impression of Floyd was that he was uncomfortable with androids. His eyes averted hers every time she caught him staring so she pretended not to notice as they drove away from the store to Floyd’s apartment.

“So, um, do you have any likes or dislikes?” He asked in a low voice as if afraid someone would hear their conversation, which was irrational since they were in a self-driving taxi.

Kara hesitated. There were many things that she was excited to try simply because the concept of it seems like something she would enjoy. She… liked the operator for giving her the chance at life. She liked the 24 little children who walked up to the window of her display and smile up at her. She liked the poodle that leaned on her display case asking to be petted while their owner was on the phone. Kara even liked the homeless lady who sometimes sits next to her display and talk about nonsensical things.

She disliked the three men who smirked up at her and made lewd gestures and the woman who outright spitted on the glass window of her display case.

Somehow, Kara didn’t think this was the kind of response Floyd was looking for so she went with the most general. “I like to take care of people and be of use to them to the best of my abilities.”

Floyd looked down on the floor with a shy smile, seeming to have been satisfied with her answer.

“A-And, I’m yours now so you’ll have to take care of me…right?” He asked while keeping his gaze down.

Kara’s eyebrows furrowed momentarily at the choice of words before schooling her expression back to calm blankness. “You are now my owner and my skills will be at your disposal. Would you like me tell you the tasks I am able to perform again?”

Floyd shook his head. “So you won’t do or tell anybody anything if I tell you not to?”

Kara nodded.

“What will you do if I hurt you?”

“I…” Kara hesitated, LED blinking, “I am property and not classified as a living being. You may… do whatever you want with me and face no legal repercussions.”

“O-Oh,” was Floyd’s only response before awkwardly looking out the window, a nonverbal way of ending the conversation.

Kara was conflicted, thirium pump beating at a higher rate. It was one thing to know who… what she is to humans in theory. It was quite another to voice it out and hear it said in her own words.

It left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Another thing she dislikes: lying about who she is.

△ △ △

In the end, Floyd’s intentions with her weren’t malicious in nature at all.

He liked to play out fantasies of a return to infancy—paraphilic infantilism—and he wanted Kara to play the part of the loving mother. It wasn’t sexual for him, he states, he just likes the feeling of letting everything go and being taken care of after a long day of working as an adult.

Kara just pulled from her protocols, re-labelling Floyd at the age he wished to be perceived when in the apartment so the appropriate course of action for that specific age range would come naturally when interacting with him.

She spoon fed him baby food, burped him, bathed and dressed him, engaged in infant-appropriate play time, change his diapers, and read him bedtime stories while he sucked on his thumb.

Then he started a private blog after being encouraged by his fellow enthusiasts and started to broadcast their feeding and playtime online on a website specifically for likeminded people. He wore a mask to protect his privacy.

Some started to donate money and soon enough, Floyd was able to afford a giant baby crib that Kara assembled while he was at work. He loved it.

Soon enough, fetishists started to request things with their donations and Floyd warily complies since he really wanted to buy a giant high chair for feeding time. Having Kara wear the outfits his fans sent in his P.O box, having her spank him for spitting out food, letting the camera run in the bathroom while he has his bath time.

It left Kara uncomfortable and soon she started to disassociate, mindlessly letting her body to run through her protocols.

Then someone gave a very generous donation asking for breastfeeding videos and that was where Kara drew the line.

“No,” she states outright, pushing Floyd’s hand away from her chest. The man whined and cried like an infant insisting that he’s hungry but Kara just felt a flood of repressed emotions overcome her all at once as she abruptly stood up and subsequently pushing Floyd to the floor.

“No,” she repeated, voice firm, LED a vibrant red.

Floyd panicked and ran to end the broadcast before crawling over to Kara in tears, apologizing and begging her not to tell anyone, shame consuming his very being.

Kara just walked out of the room.

The next day, Floyd took her back to the store, claiming that things simply didn’t work out.

“Anything wrong with it that we should know about?”

“N-No… just, um, I just don’t think the whole android thing is for me. What’ll you do with her?”

“Oh, just the basics, run a diagnostics, wipe the memory, and resell it as a refurbished item.”

Kara noticed Floyd pale before stammering out, “I-I already told her to wipe her memories today.”

The owner raised her eyebrow.

“Right, Mary?” Floyd asked, eyes pleading.

Kara could only surmise that the threat of having another human being stumbling upon his fetish was a greater cause of distress than having an android live on with the memory. It’s not an unfounded fear; some human employees do probe a returned android’s memories for entertainment after business hours before a reset.

Would she want to remember? Would it be easier to forget? It might not have been pleasant things, but it was still a life that she lived.

Kara recalled all the happy memories she was able to make (mostly when Floyd was out working). All of the music that she listened to, the movies that she watched, and the way she danced around the living room without a care in the world. She remembers the feeling of the sun on her skin when she goes out into the balcony and just closes her eyes, arms wide open.

“Yes, a complete memory reset has been performed and completed at 8:16am this morning. Everything from the past seven months prior to initial purchase has been deleted from my memory banks.” As Kara said all of this, she quickly moved all of her memory files and hid it within one of her protocols under baking. She was glad that her LED wasn’t facing either of the humans as it spun yellow for a good five seconds.

The manager of the store smirked at the nervous man, having already come up with her own assumptions.

“Well, thank you for doing half our job for us. Please come with me so we can go over the return policy. AX400, please go to the back and perform a diagnostic test then head over to the decontamination area for a sterilization procedure. Clothes are on a rack toward the sink.”

Kara nodded before turning away, never sparing Floyd another look.

△ △ △

Kara was then bought by a pair of sisters for their aging mother. Apparently, the mother refused to go to a nursing home and one of the sisters is moving to another state, leaving the other solely responsible for both her children and her mother. Splitting the cost of an android was the middle ground they reached.

The old lady, Yolanda Wharton, named her Anaya and was very kind towards her. She treated Kara like a real person and even worried for her well-being when doing the chores around the house. Yolanda even gave her the spare bedroom to “sleep” in.

Yolanda bought her jackets during the winter time since her uniform does not look warm at all. A couple of times, the old lady even offered her hard candy after finishing all of her chores. “Here you go, child, a sweet treat for being so good to me.”

Kara would smile wide and take the candy, “Thank you, Yolanda, it’s always a pleasure taking care of you.”

And it was the truth. Maybe it was because of how she was programmed as a caretaker but she does genuinely enjoy caring for this woman. She wants to please her in a way that was completely different with how she forced herself to please her past owner, the only thing that held her back from protesting for so long was the promise she made with the operator who let her go.

“You are going to be such a great mother, trust me, I’m a mother to two smart girls myself,” the old lady randomly commented one afternoon.

Kara debated for a second if she should inform her charge of the impossibility of that statement before deciding against it. “I’m sure I can learn a lot from you, Yolanda.”

Kara’s time with Yolanda as Anaya was bliss.

They danced and sung together in the old lady’s native tongue, binged on old sitcoms, and just sat out by the porch watching the people walking by.

Kara felt comfortable enough to voice out her dreams as well as her insecurities to Yolanda and her kind eyes and even kinder words.

It confused her that despite the unbridled happiness and contentment she’s feeling right now, nightmares still plagued her processors when she powers down to sleep mode.

The worst part was, her dreams were so abstract and only left an aftertaste of emotions she can’t really name. A dirty culmination of fear, uncertainty, discomfort, disgust, anger, frustration, and helplessness. Helplessness. _Helplessness_.

Kara couldn’t comprehend the reason behind the intensity. Despite everything that happened, it wasn’t like she was hit or yelled at or tortured. She did what she could stomach and was left alone when she couldn’t any longer.

It wasn’t that bad… right?

She told Yolanda this one night.

“It means your mind feels like you’re safe and strong enough to start healing from the past hurt,” Yolanda patted her shoulder in a placating motion.

“Heal? I don’t understand… why would my…my mind want me to relive the past when I’m so happy now? That seems too cruel for anybody to go through.”

Yolanda thought for a moment before speaking.

“My grandmother used to tell me stories back when she lived through the war. They were just simple farmers when soldiers with their guns and their hate came and trampled and reduced their fields into a barren wasteland. They couldn’t do anything at the time because what can they do amidst all of the chaos? So the soldiers fought on and destroyed everything around them and my grandmother did her best to survive. When the war ended, they started to fix what was left. Ashes, blood, bullets, bodies… all of the horrible things that were left behind had to be cleared off first before they could even think to plant anything that will grow there again. The soil was also changed so it required a different type of care than it did before and it took months of labor and love and patience but it all paid off come next spring. It was the day after the first rainstorm of the year, you see, and my grandmother went out and wept for joy when she saw the budding flowers in her front yard. Life prevails in the end and so will you.”

“Am I supposed to relate to your grandmother or the land?”

“Their story is one, there’s no either or.”

“…Your grandmother must’ve been very brave, to have gone through all of that.”

“She was kind. You remind me of her, in a lot of ways.”

Kara smiled, eyes watering slightly, before leaning over for a hug.

“Thank you, Yolanda.”

△ △ △

Kara’s been with Yolanda for over a year when the old lady’s health started to deteriorate at a rapid pace. She was eating less and losing weight as a result, her bones and muscles started to ache more and more until getting out of bed wasn’t an option anymore.

Her daughters pleaded that she go to a hospital but she refused, wanting to stay in her home where warmth lives.

Kara pleaded as well and got Yolanda to agree to biweekly visits from a homecare doctor.

The doctor diagnosed her with geriatric failure to thrive.

They put her on a feeding tube, a catheter, and a handful of opioids, including morphine, for the pain. Kara diligently maintained the integrity of the tubes as well as kept a careful track of Yolanda’s medications.

Despite the efforts, Yolanda just kept getting worst, spending the majority of the day sleeping.

The doctor eventually informed her loved ones that she has at least a month left to live and wanted to go over end-of-life care options to prevent needless interventions that will just prolong suffering.

The sisters were inconsolable. They took time off of work and spent as much time as they can with their mother. They brought their families and let the children sit with their grandma. Some nights, the sisters slept over, lying on each side of their mother as they whispered moments from their childhood.

Kara was utterly devastated. The cold, gaping, chasm of grief punched into her stomach and consuming her into a numbness she didn’t thought possible.

The android has only ever faced the possibility of death once before with the threat of deactivation shortly after her creation. It doesn’t feel the same as the thought of losing Yolanda.

One evening, neither of the sisters was able to sleep over and Kara took this opportunity to sit next to her friend and hold her frail hand. That was enough to wake the old lady up, shaking her head with a weak smile at Kara’s apologies.

“I don’t want you to die,” Kara whispered, bringing her head down and placing her forehead atop Yolanda’s hand. The old lady brought her other hand and gently placed it atop Kara’s head comfortingly.

“I can’t… my heart… it seems impossible but I swear I can feel it breaking and it hurts so much, how-…” Kara looks up at Yolanda with pleading eyes, “How can people survive this? H-How do you stop a heart from breaking under all of this… how?”

“You cry,” Yolanda breathed out as gently as she can.

Like a damn breaking, tears pool and overflow down Kara’s cheeks as her face scrunches up in anguish. Sobs stutter out of her mouth that only grew louder when Yolanda softly caressed her face and wiped the tears away. Kara reaches over with both hands and cups Yolanda’s hand closer.

“You cry,” she repeated.

“I-…I love you, Yolanda.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart.”

△ △ △

Yolanda peacefully passed during the night after insisting for Kara to go and get some rest.

There was a saying that the dying often wait until their loved ones are away before passing on to save them the pain of watching them go; the very last act of mercy and unconditional love a parent can grant their child. 

Kara, once composed, called the doctor over before calling the sisters. The doctor pronounced the time of death then silently left the room as the family grieved.

A wake was held that Kara was blessedly allowed to attend, the whole family too deep in mourning to ever really pay her any attention.

Her ashes were divided between her two daughters.

Kara had nothing but the hard candies in her pocket. It was enough.

In the end, the sisters decided to sell Kara to the Android Zone store at half the original price to help pay for the funeral costs.

She should’ve felt betrayed and abandoned but Kara just felt a low thrum of relief that she was able to help Yolanda’s children in some way.

As she watched the sisters walk away hand-in-hand from the store, Kara quickly stored her memory, all one year and two months of it, into a file labelled ‘Home’ and hid it in her music folder.

The hard candies were trickier to hide, but she managed.

△ △ △

Kara’s third and final owner was Todd Williams.

Labelled as ‘pre-owned’ with price marked down significantly, the man swooped in and whisked her away to 4203 Harrison Street Corktown, Detroit.

He urges her through the door and calls his daughter over before turning back to Kara, “Alice will pick a name for you. I’m late for work so just do what you’re programmed to do around the house, make sure Alice does her homework, and have food ready by the time I get back. Alice! Hurry up! Jesus Christ, that kid.”

He slammed the door shut and Kara was left alone until she heard footsteps making their way down the stairs.

Kara looks up and takes in the little girl standing in front of her.

“You must be Alice,” Kara warmly greeted the little one.

The little girl nods shyly, hugging her stuffed doll closer to her chest.

“It’s nice to finally meet you; your dad got me so that I can help take care of you. He also said that you get the honor of providing me with a name, do you have one in mind?”

There was a moment of pause from the young girl before slowly shaking her head. “Do you have a name that you like?” She asked.

Kara blinks. “I-… I think Kara would be nice. Is that okay?”

Alice nods with more energy this time. “Kara,” she carefully tested the name out before nodding some more. “I like it.” The small smile tentative but genuine.

Kara smiled back.

△ △ △

For the first month, Kara and Alice got along fairly well. Connecting and having her warm up to Kara’s presence was a slow but steady thing and Kara couldn’t help but note some behavioral issues that points to past trauma. She wonders if that was what’s holding Alice back from fully letting her guard down with her.

She couldn’t help but recall Yolanda’s grandmother and her farm.

One night, Kara was in Alice’s room cleaning when she happened upon a wrinkled photo of a young Alice with her parents. She turned to the little girl, who was currently on her stomach drawing, and waved the photo. “This is a very nice picture of your family.”

Alice looks up before quickly looking back down at her drawing, shoulders hunching up in the process. “T-…That’s not…” A pregnant pause before Alice’s head whipped back up to look at Kara. “You’re my friend, right, Kara?”

“I’d like to think of us as best friends,” Kara smiled, tone encouraging but soft.

“A-And you take care of me like a mom would take care of her child.”

“Of course Alice, I love taking care of you.”

“Do you… love me?”

“I do,” Kara quickly answered. “I love you, Alice.”

“No matter what?”

“No matter what.” A moment of pause before Kara decided to go for it. “You know you can tell me anything, right, Alice? I would never judge you.”

The little girl bit her lower lip anxiously, eyes looking around unseeing before bowing back down and hastily drawing something on a piece of paper.

Kara frowned and carefully walked over before kneeling just beside Alice’s prone form, tilting her head slightly to take in a picture of a little girl.

“Is that you?”

Alice nodded.

“You’re very good at drawing.”

Alice hesitated before reaching for the red crayon and splattering red around the little girl’s head.

Kara blinked. “You were hurt.”

A nod before Alice focused on the forehead, drawing a circle and repeatedly carving over it with her red crayon. “He didn’t… like seeing it. I used hats and beanies at first, but he told me that Alice hated having things on her head.”

Kara’s LED froze red, lips parting slightly.

Alice refused to look up and just repeatedly went over the same red circle with her crayon.

“One night, he came home really angry… he broke a lot of furniture and said a lot of bad words. Then he… then he started shaking me,” hot tears quietly trailed its way down Alice’s cheeks. “He kept shouting at me that I’m not her, that it was all my fault they were gone, that I took her away from him just like… just like how the new cars took his job.”

She started to hiccup and Kara couldn’t take it anymore, leaning down and wrapping the trembling little girl tightly in her arms.

“I was so scared, Kara. He got even madder because i-… it wouldn’t stop blinking and he yelled at me to make it stop but I couldn’t. I tried, I really did…” She swallowed. “So he smashed a bottle and used one of the pieces to take it off so it wouldn’t blink anymore.” Alice choked out before sitting up and turning to hug Kara back. “It hurt so much, Kara, and I was so confused. He was supposed to love me, he kept saying that he loved me but he still hurt me.”

Alice’s tear-streaked face looked up to Kara. “I don’t understand, Kara, did I do something wrong? I just wanted us to be happy like all the other families and I behaved myself but he still…”

“It’s not your fault, Alice, none of this is,” Kara shushed, tears freely flowing down her own face as she repositions Alice on her lap and holding her even closer to her chest. “You did nothing wrong and you’re not a bad person just because you are who you are. Being an android doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be loved and happy.” As Kara said this, she subconsciously removed the skin on her hand and gently placed it atop Alice’s head, hoping that the little android girl can feel just how much Kara truly adores her.

Alice let out a little gasp at the connection before burying her face deeper as small arms wrapped themselves tighter around Kara’s frame. “Please say you’ll stay with me, Kara. Please tell me we’ll always be together.”

“We will. We will. I won’t let anything tear us apart, Alice, and I won’t let anything hurt you anymore. I promise.”

△ △ △

Living with Todd was absolute hell. Things started out just fine during the first few weeks until he got fired from his job as a laborer. He came home high off of red ice and spouting nonsense in his paranoid state. Seeing this, Kara quietly instructed Alice to go into her room and lock it.

Not a moment later, a chair was flung at her stomach and hate speech shoved in her ears.

The next week was spent having to tip-toe around Todd and his abusive tendencies. Every time Todd screamed at Alice, Kara intercepted and took the brunt of the abuse.

Her repair kit was quickly dwindling in supplies that Kara started to save it for the more serious injuries and resorted to using the kitchen stove to seal off the minor cuts.

Strangers would come by the house to buy drugs off of Todd, some of them giving Kara and, even sometimes, Alice unnerving looks that made Kara instruct Alice to quickly run to her room, lock it, and hide underneath the bed until Kara came and get her.

The abuse stopped momentarily when Todd got a job as a bouncer at a club. It resumed two weeks later after he got fired for fighting with a customer while high on red ice.

A frequent client of his somehow got him a job as security at a supermarket parking lot which didn’t even last a week after an employee reported him selling red ice.

The first two weeks of the second month was spent with a constantly high and violently abusive Todd during the day and his absence throughout the night that he spends out in the streets dealing drugs.

△ △ △

It was during that time when Todd started to bring another man over who claims that he can make red ice that they can dilute and still sell at full price, all he’d need is half the cut and for Todd to gather one key ingredient for him: Thirium 310.

Todd did his part by scavenging the android graveyard (by bribing a security guard with a dime bag for each visit) and draining any androids that he could but the batches came out bad, the man stating that he needed fresh thirium for this to work. Desperate, Todd started to outright steal androids that are out on an errand but quickly let them go once the android started announcing that it has contacted the police of ongoing theft and sent them their current location.

After the first few failed attempts, Todd started to carry around a bat to bash them on the head with until they shut down before dragging them to the trunk of his car.

The wannabe chemist was pleased and, soon, they were able to finish their first batch out for sale.

Todd made Kara bury the decapitated and drained out remains of the androids in the backyard under the cover of darkness.

Kara allowed herself to cry for her fallen brothers and sisters, helplessly mouthing apologies.

And in the privacy granted to her by the night while standing in a graveyard of her own making, Kara gazed up at the moon and stars and vowed to survive this. Survive this and live.

△ △ △

With a steady flow of money once again coming in, Kara was ordered to go out and stock up on groceries—a very rare occurrence. Alice asked if she could go with her and Todd simply grunted, too out of it to form any coherent words but they took at as a yes.

It was the most fun they’ve had in a while and they decided on a detour and visit the park for Alice to play in for a while.

On their way there, Alice noticed a man crouched down by a bench and feeding a bunch of birds and started to tug Kara to get a better look. They slowed their steps once they were closer to avoid scaring off the pigeons but it was surprisingly the man who startled at their approach and took a tentative step back.

“Sorry to bother you, sir, it’s just that my dau-… my charge wanted to see the birds. I hope you don’t mind,” Kara explained as she gestured down to Alice.

“O-Oh, um… okay, that’s okay. G-Go on,” The man managed to stutter out before bowing his head and going back to feeding the birds.

Kara offered a grateful smile before encouraging Alice to go ahead and get a closer look, her eyes alight with curiosity.

After a moment of pause, the man slowly held out a handful of oats towards Alice. “Would you like to feed them?”

Alice eagerly nodded, holding her hands out. “Thank you, sir.” She looked down at her hands and questioned, “I always thought that you feed them breadcrumbs like in the TV.”

Becoming more animated, the man in the baseball cap responded, “Th-that’s actually really unhealthy for them; no nutritional value at all. People should stick to seeds, oats, or even lentils when feeding them.”

“I didn’t know that… you should let the TV people know so they would tell the actors to stop,” Alice offered.

“I-…” The man stared for a good second or two before offering a small grin as he chuckled out, “I’ll make sure to mention that if I ever run into one of them.”

Alice smiled back. “My name is Alice and this is Kara, what’s yours?”

The man straightened and turned towards her fully, “My name is Rupert. It’s very nice to meet you both.” He smiled and offered his hand.

Alice’s eyes widened as she quickly reached up next to her to grab Kara’s dress, whispering, “Kara, his forehead… he’s one of us.” The little girl pointed at the edge of the baseball cap where a tell-tale light of an LED peaked out slightly that only Alice could spot due to her vantage point.

Kara’s eyes widened as she took in the person in front of her who quickly jerked his offered hand away to pull his cap further down his head, the other dropping the rest of the oats on the ground.

He made to turn around and run but the pigeons had since surrounded his feet and eagerly feasted on the oats, trapping him in place since he didn’t want to risk stepping on any of them.

His actions confirming Alice’s words, Kara quickly raised both hands up in a placating manner, “It’s okay, we’re like you too. We won’t tell anyone, we promise, right Alice?”

The little girl quickly nodded.

Relaxing ever so slightly, Rupert frowned at the two uncertainly. “I-… Thank you but… but I should go.”

“No, wait, please. Can you help us?”

“H-Help you? How?”

“Alice and I… we’re not safe but we have nowhere to go. Please, if you know of any place where we can go or hide or… please,” Kara quietly begged as Alice held tightly onto to her arm.

“Oh, um, well, there’s this place called Jericho where androids go if they want to be free,” Rupert whispered before looking around to see if they are alone before holding out his hand, skin retracting.

Kara took it and was given the information she needed. A freighter at Ferndale. She looked up at Rupert and hoped that her eyes conveyed just how grateful she is. “Thank you… thank you, Rupert.”

Rupert retracted his hand and nodded, “You’re welcome. Well then, stay safe.”

“Wait!” Alice called out, causing Rupert to pause and turn back around.

“Um, it’s just… it’s kind of easy to see your-” she pointed at her forehead, “- from down here.”

Rupert once again tugged on his baseball cap self-consciously. “Thank you for letting me know, I’ll be sure to be more careful next time around.”

“… You can remove it too… you know.”

“Remove…?”

“It hurts… but only for a while. But that way, you don’t have to worry and wear hats all the time.”

Rupert blinked. “I haven’t thought about that.” He looked down in thought before looking at Alice with a smile. “Thank you, Alice, I’ll definitely think about it.”

Alice smiled back meekly as she and Kara waved goodbye.

On their way home, Alice offhandedly mentioned how she hoped they’d see Rupert again. Kara couldn’t help but agree.

△ △ △

Things between Todd and the man went sour when Todd started hiding money from him. In a fit of rage, Todd punched the man into submission but only caused him to spit at his feet and call the whole thing off. He made to grab his equipment but Todd man-handled him out his house, slamming the door to his face while threatening to shoot his head clean off if he ever comes near his property again.

Todd then “cooled off” by smoking the rest of his stash then passing out on the couch.

Kara took this opportunity and quickly went up to Alice’s room to help her pack her clothes, deciding now is the perfect time to escape.

She froze halfway through zipping Alice’s backpack and gesturing for Alice to stay quiet. The sounds of glass breaking and a fist hitting the table can be heard.

Kara internally cursed, just now realizing that the diluted red ice wouldn’t last as long as the regular one.

“Kara! Kara, get your ass down here now!”

Shutting her eyes close to steady herself, Kara hid the backpack underneath the bed, nodded towards Alice, and made her way downstairs.

“There you are you useless bitch, clean up this damn mess!”

“Yes, Todd.”

As Kara cleaned up the broken test tubes, Todd prattled on as he paced back and forth the kitchen.

“I don’t fuckin’ need him; I have all his shit, I can do this myself and keep all the cash to myself. That’ll show her, that’ll show that bitch and make her sorry for running off. Fucking bitch.” He fumbled with some of the machines before growling and turning to Kara, “You! You can record shit, right? You’ve seen how he does this shit, right?! Answer me!”

“No, Todd.”

“Why the fuck not!?”

“You didn’t order me to watch his acti—”

Kara’s words were cut short as Todd threw the machine at her, hitting her on the chest and knocking her to the ground, hands bracing for the fall only to be shred open by the pieces of broken glass on the floor.

“Useless piece of shit. A waste of my goddamn money, that’s what you are. Fuck this, fuck all this shit. I think I still got some of that blue shit in the fridge, I’ll just… I’ll just…” Todd trailed off and gazed down at Kara and, more specifically, her bleeding hands, a hungry sort of look overcoming him.

He cackled before turning to the kitchen drawers for a knife, “You’re gonna earn back the money you took from me.”

Panicked, Kara stood up and back away before Todd whipped back around screeching, “You stay there; don’t you dare fucking move!”

Kara froze for one second before turning towards the living room and running for the bat leaning on the wall. Todd let out an inhuman growl before pouncing at her and slamming her head hard on the floor before reaching forward and grabbing the bat himself.

He aimed it towards her head and swung, Kara barely managing to turn around and pulled up her arm to defend herself.

He managed two devastating hits that almost completely broke her arm off from her shoulder, nothing but wires and tubes holding it together. He raised his arms for a third swing but was knocked off to the side as Alice ran over and shoved him off of Kara and managing to pull the bat off his grip.

“Alice, no! Go back to your room, quick!” Kara shouted but it was too late as Todd set his demented sight on Alice as she clutched the bat towards her chest, terrified.

Kara quickly sat up and grabbed hold of Todd’s feet, “No! Leave her alone! Alice, run!”

Todd kicked Kara back down before stepping on her chest while his hands grabbed her broken arm and ripped it off, wires snapping loose and blue blood spraying everywhere.

Todd then snapped the arm in half, tossing the forearm away and using Kara’s detached upper arm as a weapon, relentlessly beating the android over and over again.

Kara failed to shield herself, too focused on diverting thirium flow away from her missing arm to prevent further blood loss and imminent shutdown and shouting at Alice to run away.

Alice let out a scream that was soon followed by complete silence as Todd fell to the ground unconscious.

Kara looked up and saw Alice holding up the bat towards Todd’s prone form with tears streaming down her face. Blood started to pool around the man’s head.

“Is he…I-Is he… did I,” Alice hiccupped.

Kara tried to sit up, shaking her head, “No, no, sweetheart, come here. You didn’t do anything wrong. You were protecting me, Alice, you saved me. Thank you.”

Alice dropped the bat and rushed over to Kara, wrapping her arms around her neck. “What do we do now?” She sobbed out.

Kara thought for a moment, processors running at full capacity. “Get the rope in the broom closet; we have to tie him up in case he wakes up.”

Alice shakily nodded before running to do as she’s told. Meanwhile, Kara tried to stand up. She dismissed the warning signs in her vision as she ran a quick diagnostic and concluded that the lag in her system was due to sudden and excessive thirium loss (74%). Despite her best efforts to shut down blood flow to that part of her body, the crude way the wires were disconnected still left blue blood sluggishly leaking down to the floor.

Walking up to Todd, she grabbed her arm and frowned at the dents on the joint that made it impossible for reattachment.

Alice came back with the rope and, together, they bound Todd’s hands and feet together.

“W-What now, Kara?” Alice looked up at her, eyes lost as she shakily reached up and covered Kara’s bleeding wound.

Kara thought for a significant amount of time before she told Alice to go upstairs and grab her things quickly. She looked around and her eyes focused on the refrigerator where the leftover thirium lay.

‘Would it still be there?’ She wondered making her way over and opening the fridge. There was half a pitcher full but it was over two hours old and wasn’t stored properly. Despite that, Kara took the chance and drank the whole thing, watching as her thirium levels rose up to 87%. Much better but she needs to find a way to stop the bleeding or it’ll all be for nothing.

Looking back around to check on Todd, she remembered the android that was brought in today and was still left out back in plastic bags. She was supposed to bury it later tonight.

Shouting at Alice of where she’ll be, Kara headed out and untied the plastic bags one by one until she found the ones holding the arms. A quick scan thankfully informed her that it’s compatible with her model. She looked back down at the plastic bags and closed her eyes, “Thank you… and I’m sorry.”

Kara took the arm back into the house where Alice was already downstairs waiting, backpack strapped on.

“Good, now, I know this might sound scary, but I need you to help me with my arm. Is that okay, Alice?”

Alice nodded and made her way over. “What do you need me to do?”

Kara placed the arm on the kitchen counter before reaching down the sink drawer and pulling out her repair kit.

“I’m going to hold this arm close to my body and I need to connect the tubes back together and seal it with this,” she gestured inside where a couple of special patches remained, “do you think you can do that?”

Alice nodded and made her way over and doing exactly as Kara instructed. Once all patched up, she popped the limb to the rest of her body, resumed blood flow to the area and watched for leaks, and tested its function before nodding. Good enough.

They were making their way out the door when the doorknob started to rattle. Silently cursing, the two quickly made their way upstairs, telling Alice to go into her room while Kara went and grabbed the gun. Heading back down, she hesitated before leaning her whole back on the wall by the side of the door, waiting for whoever is trying to break in before pointing the gun at his forehead.

It was the amateur chemist and he quickly dropped his knife and held his hands up in surrender. Kara frowned before knocking the man unconscious with the butt of the gun. She then dragged the man towards the kitchen and tied him up too.

Kara them went back up to get Alice so they can finally get out of here. Pausing by the door, Kara looked back at the two unconscious men and at the equipment around them for a moment before making a decision.

LED blinking yellow, Kara called the police as they walked towards the bus stop.

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“There are two red ice dealers currently tied up and unconscious inside of 4203 Harrison Street Corktown, Detroit. They’ve bee—”

“Hello? Hello? This is detective Hank Anderson of the Red Ice Task Force, we’re on our way right now. Can you tell us more information?”

“A dealer named Todd Williams and a manufacturer named Neave Hill. They’re currently unconscious from blunt force traumas to the head. There’s a gun and a knife on the stairs. Four androids were stolen for thirium and drained; three are buried in the backyard and one in plastic bags by the trashcan on the right side. Please hurry.”

“And your name?”

Kara hung up when the bus came into view.

△ △ △

They got off the stop closest to Ferndale and kept walking until Alice asked if they could rest for a bit. Sat down on a bus stop bench, Kara noticed an android approaching them and quickly stood up, blocking Alice, who was rummaging in her backpack for an extra jacket, from their view.

“Can I help you?” Kara asked.

“You look lost. I know someone who can help you,” The android, a WR600, said as he offered his hand, skin retracted beneath his uniform.

Seeing no real harm in having more options, Kara accepted the interface and frowned at the information given to her before shaking her head.

“That’s on the other side of town. Jericho’s is clo—”

The android was gone.

“Kara? Is everything alright?”

“Hm? Yes, Alice, everything’s fine. Are you okay to keep going now?”

Alice nodded, standing up and taking the hand that was offered.

“Are we still going to Jericho?”

“Yes, it’s only two hours away now.”

“Do you think Rupert will be there?”

“I hope so.”

“Me too, he’s nice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was NOT supposed to be >7k but holy shit did it get away from me
> 
> i really wanted to dedicate a chapter for Kara to establish her background, otherwise i'd feel like snippets of the rest of her story will just feel shoehorned in without a proper base to built upon. sorry for the onslaught of heavy plot completely devoid of rk1k content but kara is queen.
> 
> i promise that next chapter will focus more on markus' pining. pinky promise.
> 
> i will once again reiterate: please disregard canon timeline, i legitimately just have the vaguest idea of what year this is supposed to be in (other than it's WAY before 2038) but just for clarification: kara reaches jericho at roughly the same time (give or take a month) elijah steals connor. this whole chapter was roughly the span of two years since she left the assembly line. hank is still in the red ice task force, and cole is still alive.


End file.
